To PCT mile 41.5 (stats here).
It was hard to get sleep the previous night. Lots of noises and lights in the campground. The nearby lake caused condensation and my quilt was a bit damp in the morning. I woke up 3am and felt that I could get up, but we had agreed to get up at 5am so I ended up just taking a leak.
Dismantling the camp and eating the cold soaked breakfast took quite long. It was not until 6am that everything was ready. I needed still to utilise the toilet once again, and we were almost the last hikers to depart. The poor general map of the campground mislead us and we ended up starting the hike down the wrong road, walking 2 miles extra before realising our error. Funny to make such an error right from the bat, but mishaps like this make you learn. We increased our speed to catch up. The weather was cool, even cold for my fingers. I was surprised that how cool it can be here, in the "desert". Another factor is that the hike seems to follow a green corridor. This is nothing like a sandy Sahara.
It become evident that Mikko has a much faster pace than I do. I was hiking first, which is reasonable as I am slower, and also have gps watch to establish a reasonable hiking pace. But as Mikko has much more hiking done the past year, he could and should go faster.
After 20km, we had a break beneath the trees. Other hikers also later joined. Mikko was restless for the trail and soon said that he is gonna push forward. I needed to rest my feet and shoulders, so I stayed and we agreed to meet at Mount Laguna camping ground. I also want to hang around with other hikers. During this break, I lost my virginity in what comes down to taking a dumb along the trail. Because of the amount of food I have, I've eaten enormously.
After a total of 30min break, I continued hiking by myself. The time was about 2pm and the heat was more intense than on the previous day. Going forward was hard, so I utilized my mp3 player to distract myself. I also took the chance to talk with other hikers. It is fun to talk to people that have taken the same challenge, and learn about their backgrounds.
I met a group of elderly hikers doing a section hike of about 100 miles or so, that we've been leapfrogging. A man named Bob from the group told me that we would be welcomed to their house to have a rest and water, if we wanted, when we reach Cabazon a bit later on the trail. It amazes me how the trail binds people here and gets them to help seemingly complete strangers.
The start of the trail indeed has not felt like a desolate "into the wild" experience. We stayed also the second night at a proper camping site. It was Saturday, so it was full of people with their cars and families. The trail had lots of day hikers and the PCT hikers at this early stage are still cramped together. This has not bothered me, as adjusting to everything takes a while anyway. Having other people to talk to and share this experience makes it easier.
I doubted that Mikko would not be in Mount Laguna as it is a big camping ground and he had a good pace that could take him further. Talking to other hikers revealed that we could pay for one camping site that would accomodate up to 8 hikers. As the style commonly is here, camping sites are for cars and camper vans. When I arrived to the place and switched my cell on, I got a message from Mikko that he had already reserved a spot about 30min before me.
We were able to gather 4 people from our starting group, consisting of Rebecca, Simon, Colton and Nick. Mikko performed trail magic of his own and paid the camping. Thanks Mikko! Before this, we got some real trail magic as a family camping here offered us beers and hot dogs. I ate a bun and some potato salad. Thanks Mike! We ended the night with a camp fire and sharing stories. Colton offered a sip from his whisky. It made me regret a bit I did not bring a flask with me.
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| The weather has been cool with clouds and all that. |
It was hard to get sleep the previous night. Lots of noises and lights in the campground. The nearby lake caused condensation and my quilt was a bit damp in the morning. I woke up 3am and felt that I could get up, but we had agreed to get up at 5am so I ended up just taking a leak.
Dismantling the camp and eating the cold soaked breakfast took quite long. It was not until 6am that everything was ready. I needed still to utilise the toilet once again, and we were almost the last hikers to depart. The poor general map of the campground mislead us and we ended up starting the hike down the wrong road, walking 2 miles extra before realising our error. Funny to make such an error right from the bat, but mishaps like this make you learn. We increased our speed to catch up. The weather was cool, even cold for my fingers. I was surprised that how cool it can be here, in the "desert". Another factor is that the hike seems to follow a green corridor. This is nothing like a sandy Sahara.
It become evident that Mikko has a much faster pace than I do. I was hiking first, which is reasonable as I am slower, and also have gps watch to establish a reasonable hiking pace. But as Mikko has much more hiking done the past year, he could and should go faster.
After 20km, we had a break beneath the trees. Other hikers also later joined. Mikko was restless for the trail and soon said that he is gonna push forward. I needed to rest my feet and shoulders, so I stayed and we agreed to meet at Mount Laguna camping ground. I also want to hang around with other hikers. During this break, I lost my virginity in what comes down to taking a dumb along the trail. Because of the amount of food I have, I've eaten enormously.
After a total of 30min break, I continued hiking by myself. The time was about 2pm and the heat was more intense than on the previous day. Going forward was hard, so I utilized my mp3 player to distract myself. I also took the chance to talk with other hikers. It is fun to talk to people that have taken the same challenge, and learn about their backgrounds.
I met a group of elderly hikers doing a section hike of about 100 miles or so, that we've been leapfrogging. A man named Bob from the group told me that we would be welcomed to their house to have a rest and water, if we wanted, when we reach Cabazon a bit later on the trail. It amazes me how the trail binds people here and gets them to help seemingly complete strangers.
 |
| The trail is full of these. |
The start of the trail indeed has not felt like a desolate "into the wild" experience. We stayed also the second night at a proper camping site. It was Saturday, so it was full of people with their cars and families. The trail had lots of day hikers and the PCT hikers at this early stage are still cramped together. This has not bothered me, as adjusting to everything takes a while anyway. Having other people to talk to and share this experience makes it easier.
I doubted that Mikko would not be in Mount Laguna as it is a big camping ground and he had a good pace that could take him further. Talking to other hikers revealed that we could pay for one camping site that would accomodate up to 8 hikers. As the style commonly is here, camping sites are for cars and camper vans. When I arrived to the place and switched my cell on, I got a message from Mikko that he had already reserved a spot about 30min before me.
 |
| A nice family offered our group some trail magic at the campground. |
We were able to gather 4 people from our starting group, consisting of Rebecca, Simon, Colton and Nick. Mikko performed trail magic of his own and paid the camping. Thanks Mikko! Before this, we got some real trail magic as a family camping here offered us beers and hot dogs. I ate a bun and some potato salad. Thanks Mike! We ended the night with a camp fire and sharing stories. Colton offered a sip from his whisky. It made me regret a bit I did not bring a flask with me.
A flacon of ale! The journey takes its own twists and turns it seems, but im happy to hear there is alot of comradery and friendly peoples. Good that you have music with you.
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